The ESC Dijon Bourgogne (Burgundy School of Business) has recently wrapped up its three year study of wine blogging worldwide, the results of which have been released in a free whitepaper titled World Wide Wines: Digital Writing on Wine.
This is important not just because it sounds like The Scorpions’ kick-ass live album World Wide Live, but because the ESC Dijon Bourgogne study is the longest and most comprehensive view of the wine blogosphere ever attempted. Is it perfect? No (Exhibit A: calling Paul Mabray and I – now in or forties – the “younger generation of wine bloggers;” maybe compared to the average age of the wine guys writing for traditional wine media outlets…). But given its scope, its incorporation of other important wine blogging studies, and its length, this is as close as we’ve got to a litmus test on the global state of wine blogging.
For me, the most telling and pertinent results of the study come in pages 23-26 (more on that below), in which the study adds further proof to the idea (or what we should now probably consider the fact) that there is no real difference between wine bloggers and wine consumers.
Think that wine bloggers are “wasting” time by talking to one another, and don’t reach “real” consumers who spend their money on wine? Sorry, you’re harboring an antiquated view that doesn’t stand up to common sense, the laws of statistical averages, or the data offered in ESC Dijon Bourgogne’s three year study. If that’s still your view, then maybe you should just go renew your membership to the Flat Earth Society instead of seeing the study details I’m about to present…
To start, let’s look at the ESC Dijon Bourgogne’s findings for why people blog about wine, in two of wine’s largest markets, the U.S. and China:
The results show pretty strong predilections towards education, hobby, and (most importantly) sharing views/passions/love around wine. If that combination doesn’t define an avid consumer, I don’t know what does. This underscores the notion that wine bloggers are not a species apart from wine consumers; they are simply passionate wine consumers who are “louder” online than others.
Cutting the data by profession is similarly revealing. While wine bloggers tend to be more wine industry/professional types in China, there’s still a healthy amount of non-wine-biz-pros blogging (tied for the top category along with journalists). The U.S. shows a clear slant towards hobbyists / consumers:
As for the notion that wine blogging is somehow “dead,” the white paper partially dismantles that, as well, citing the movement of discussions about blog articles (particularly for younger consumers/readers) from the comments section to social media platforms like twitter and The Book of Face (a migration we’ve been discussing here since 2010, so that of course come as no surprise to you faithful long-time 1WD readers, right?), and the growth of the space globally.
The paper’s conclusion, included below, reinforces the idea that blogging is 1) about storytelling, and 2) that storytelling is happening between engaged wine consumes in the case of wine blogging, and 3) yeah, we talk too much about wine critics, okay, okay, we get it. Missing either of those first two aspects means that you’re missing the point about wine blogging entirely (and should stop reading this, as you’re probably late for one of your Flat Earth Society local chapter meetings…).
Cheers!
I just sort of 'sped read' this article but I think the authors are off on quite a few points as in saying that wine bloggers are basically loud & opinionated wine consumers. I simply don't think that's true as most serious wine bloggers have WSET certification, Masters and or higher diplomas in applied sciences related to wine-making, viticulture, geology, etc.
It is true that the blog sphere is somewhat unregulated as in their is currently no governing body or authority, but I think its pretty well regulated. If you post rubbish as a blogger or as a reader make stupid, rude or offensive comments your comments don't get posted or if they perchance are you get your head taken off.
Lastly are you really over 40 Joe Roberts? That was a surprise as I thought you were around my age as in very late 30s e.g. plus 35; must be all those expensive wine sample bottles you have in your cellar keeping you young.
Cheers!
Solomon
Solomon – thanks for that! I'll be 42 in March. My maturity level is more like early 20s. My L5-S1 lumbar disk is closer to 80… Regarding boggling, I agree that the community can be mostly self-policing. But I think you're potentially overstating the serious wine blogger continent; the numbers suggest the vast majority of bloggers aren't serious, they're just avid consumers. We might have more proportionately in wine that fall into the serious camp, but it's still a small number combined to the total, probably.
Solomon,
Do you have some evidence to back up this assertion?:
". . . most [sic] serious wine bloggers have WSET certification, Masters and or higher diplomas in applied sciences related to wine-making, viticulture, geology, etc."
I know quite a few Masters of Wine, Wine Sommeliers, published wine writers, published wine reviewers, wine importers, wine distributors, wine merchants and restaurateurs.
Those who "opine on wine" on the Web don't earn any serious coin doing so.
Their numbers represent a distinct single digit percentage of the "teeming millions" [*] of "citizen journalist bloggers" who fill the Web with their musings.
As evidence, allow me to cite the Wall Street Journal "On Wine" column titled "Five Wine Blogs I Really Click With."
Link: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127…
Excerpt:
"I spent the better part of last week doing something that relatively few wine drinkers probably do: reading wine blogs. Not just a handful of blogs here and there but hundreds and hundreds of wine blogs from all over the world. I read until I was absolutely blog-bleary; I probably totaled 10,000 page views.
"I did this partly out of curiosity. I don't read many wine blogs, and I wondered what I might be missing. What was being discussed? What wines, wineries and topics were hot? After all, people in the wine trade have called bloggers a powerful force, capable of challenging — perhaps even eclipsing — traditional media and conventional wine critics. I'm not sure if that's true, but the numbers are certainly impressive.
"There are about 1,450 wine blogs today, of which about 1,000 are nonprofessional endeavors (the rest are 'industry' blogs), according to Allan Wright of the Zephyr Adventures tour operator, who has organized the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference in North America for the past five years. But most bloggers haven't been doing it very long: 'Only 18% of [wine] bloggers today have been blogging for more than six years,' he said.
Link: http://winebloggersconference.org/from-the-organi…
"Most of the bloggers were doing it just for 'personal satisfaction,' Mr. Wright said, since the possibility of making money was quite small. Alder Yarrow, who writes a much-talked-about blog, Vinography, told me that he earns $12,000 to $16,000 from it annually, most of which comes from banner ads. Said Mr. Yarrow, who began his blog in 2004 and has a day job: 'Monetizing a blog is very hard if you don't want to sell products, sell advertising to wineries and therefore look like a shill.'
"Most bloggers are more like Alice Feiring, a traditional wine journalist and blogger who has never made 'a cent' from her blog, the Feiring Line, which she started in 2004. (It's one of the few that I read on a regular basis.) But unlike most other bloggers, Ms. Feiring has a newsletter; she has 450 subscribers paying $65 a year for 10 issues. 'The blog was a soapbox; the newsletter is a mini-magazine,' Ms. Feiring explained.
"A lack of profit potential isn't necessarily the biggest blogger obstacle; time is in even shorter supply. Judging from the number of bloggers who allow weeks, months, even years to go by without posting a thought, it's clearly hard to maintain momentum. Or inspiration. More than one blogger explained his or her absence with a post that began something like: 'I didn't drink anything worth writing about.' "
~~ Bob
[ * One of the signature phrases of my "uncle" Cecil Adams: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Adams ]
I think it might be much more valuable to learn about wine bloggers' purchasing patterns instead of their motivations. That would be more indicative of their position as a "wine consumer." As a hypothetical, consider Blogger "A" and "B" who both claim to blog as a hobby. Blogger "A" only buys one bottle of wine a month, getting everything else as free samples. Blogger "B" buys 3 bottles of wine a week, getting some others as free samples. Which is the more important wine consumer? Obviously "B" who buys more wine. Now, "A" might be a more important wine "influencer" but that is a whole different story.
Richard – I agree it would be usefull and probably fascinating to see that info. Not sure I'd say one consumer is more important than another, however; more important to whom? :)
Why is it important "that there is no real difference between wine bloggers and wine consumers?"
Consumers buy things. It is all about the benjamins. All other matters being equal, a consumer who buys more wine is more important to wineries than a consumer who buys less. That seems a given. And remember that this aspect has nothing to do with influence. It is a pure numbers game, separate from the influence angle.
I think the What and How of what we're buying is also important. And it would be important to different brands. I.e., fewer purchases of higher-end wine, but that are loyal and repeat purchases, might be more important to some brands than multiple purchases of different labels at lower price points. Both are important, but to different groups and for different reasons.
According to the report, I'm in the minority – a wine professional, over 50, without WSET or other letters after my name.
Because I've been working in the wine industry for the past 30 years (not incredibly lucrative, but rewarding), I cannot afford a cellar full of expensive samples. Wineries do send me some great samples, but those are mostly domestic.
That said, I rarely buy wine, but do consider myself a wine consumer (and professional wine judge and wine writer).
Sue – I guess the question is, what motivates you to blog? If it's professional reasons, then you're definitely in the minority (according to this study, anyway).
Sue,
See my reply to Solomon above.
~~ Bob
Very interesting read for sure. As a newer person to the wine world and also newer person in the blogging world it definitely got me thinking, "why do this?" Why drink wine? Why write about it?
Cause it's fun. Seems like that should ultimately be at the root of it for most people. If it's not enjoyable then why do it right?
And I'd definitely agree that wine writers are more consumers than anything else. I buy 3-5 bottles a week in a range of values (nothing too far out there as far as price is concerned) and don't see that stopping anytime soon.
YesOrNo – Exactly. In fact, that's going to be one of the major focuses of 1WD in 2014, getting back to things that make me excited to talk about them (more on that in the next week or two). Cheers.
Love reading all the comments. Thanks Joe for posting… While I would like to think I am a serious wine blogger… I don't boast letters after my name but have been blogging for about 8 years now and consider myself to get better every year. But that is my opinion. To those who do this "Professionally" may have a different opinion on me.. Difference, I don't get paid to do it other than in wine and I too like Sue, think getting paid in wine is pretty damn cool. So I guess I am singing to choir when I say… I blog for my passion of the wine industry. I drink wine.. alot of wine. I get alot of wineries sending me samples and I probably buy as much if not more. Regardless of why we do it.. The point is we are talking about the wine which means we promote, which means we get others to buy the wine, which means the winemakers sell and make more.. Circle of life I guess.
Kim – thanks. Yeah, exactly. The point is, for me, that the criticism that wine bloggers only talk to one another is, to put it bluntly, stupid. It's like saying that shoppers in Macy's are only talking to one another while they're buying stuff there, as if they should instead be shouting at passers by and trying to get them into the store or something. In some cases, yes, the passers by see what's going on, get curious, and stop in to buy also; that's what the most well-read bloggers can do. But the fact that avid consumers and passionate people talk with one another about a product like wine is not something to criticize, it is something to celebrate. :)
Bloggers like each other and leave comments on each other's blogs…sure. Of course, the next wine blogger who isn't nice to me, or excited to talk about wine or the wine industry, will be the first I've run into over 4 years of having a wine business. I honest didn't even realize that thought was out there, but it is a shame that it is, to any extent based on the fact that it simply isn't true on any level.
Personally, I'd find it interesting to note the level of wine blogging happening in states that do not have direct shipments available, versus those that do(of course that may be my own bias)
The notion that wine bloggers are largely talking to themselves — and not the wider, general public — was most prominently promoted by Charles Olken:
"Monday Manifestos: Wine Bloggers Are Talking To Themselves"
Link: http://www.cgcw.com/databaseshowitem.aspx?id=7976…
Bob, yes, it's a good read. But my point is that any distinction made between the average blogger and the average consumer is almost certainly false. They are, in effect, shades of the same person.
Very interesting. Thanks for calling our attention to this study, Joe.
Cheers
Interesting reading the comments & feedback from different people as it makes you see all the different angles of this complex topic. I think as there are many different types of people & wine drinkers there are also different types of wine bloggers.
Some such as Joe Roberts & Jamie Goode for example are WSET trained and/or have professional training and education; then others such as David Honig over at Palate Press are self-taught but very knowledgeable & well versed in this topic. And then there are enthusiasts, aficionados, fans, etc, etc.
So it takes all kinds to make up our beautiful wine blogging universe but to say that wine bloggers don't impact or drive wineries sales volumes or influence purchasing choices is just preposterous I would say. As the wine blogger will influence & educate more people & also help wineries increase sales & help people have healthier lives & enjoy life more as a result.
Cheers!
Solomon Mengeu
Solomon – well said. To say that wine bloggers don't impact or drive wineries sales volumes is to say that consumers don't do those things, either, which is preposterous. :-)
Solomon-I'd also add that bloggers tend to have the level of different experiences that winemakers and others on the production side tend to. Heck, William over at 2 Shepherds doesn't have a viticulture degree, but I'm yet to find someone complaining about his wine. Certainly bloggers don't need to be held to higher educational standards than winemakers-
Joe,
The measure of the potential influence those 1,450 self-identified wine bloggers might have on positively affecting wine sales can be assessed by the size of their reading audience.
The bigger the soapbox, the bigger the megaphone, the bigger the influence.
If you or anyone you know has a quotable research source on how many unique users visit the leading (and obscure) wine blogger websites each month, that would be an invaluable contribution to the discourse.
I suspect the numbers are modest. And more modest still against the paid circulation and reading audience of the mainstream print media.
The Wall Street Journal has 2 million-plus subscribers. Their Saturday "On Wine" column's potential reading audience eclipses anything that Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast or Wine & Spirits delivers.
That's a hell of a soapbox for any aspiring "taste maker" / "opinion leader."
~~ Bob
Bob, I fail to see how those numbers make a difference. I've written for PB, Answers.com, Publix Grape, and will have a piece running in Parade in March, all outlets that have circulation/potential readership that puts a serious smackdown on any wine mag, etc. And I blog. And yet, my blog likely informs more purchasing at 20k or so readers a month, because they're going to be far more passionate and open to spending far more money. The point is that they're spending money – likely a disproportionate amount of it – on wine, which by definition makes them consumers. Influence is a related but separate question.
Joe,
Throw out this two-part question to your followers:
1) How many of you 20K readers purchased a bottle of wine during the last 30 days?
2) How many of those bottles were reviewed and recommended on 1WineDude in the last 30 days?
This query strives to measure the "conversion rate" of your blog readers into wine buyers.
This same query can be posed to other wine bloggers as well.
As I have alluded to in other wine blog replies, I have an ad agency background.
To this day (excluding direct response marketing campaigns), the ad industry still cannot "prove" that there is a direct linkage between paid media advertising and sales of specific products or services.
(Media that is measured: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audience_measurement…
Wine bloggers have an even higher bar to vault over to demonstrate their ability to garner a reading audience, and persuade consumers to buy reviewed wines.
~~ Bob
Addendum.
Seems the link I provided is problematical. Let's try again:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audience_measurement
If it still doesn't work, copy and paste these key words from the lead sentence into a Google search:
"Audience measurement measures how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic on websites."
Bob – fascinating idea. I need to think about it but I love the idea, the issue is in executing it. I suppose the most powerful/best way would be a survey that spans several blogs/SM channels. I've also been considering (for about three years!) a broader survey about 1wd readers, so could incorporate it into that and then share the results. It's a lot off work to do it right (which is why it's still three years in the can in my case), and even then you'd have only one blog's numbers; so might be interesting to discuss but not sure it is useful in terms of speculating about the aggregate of blogs' influence? Anyway, I gotta noodle it, and run it by some people who are good with data/stats. But geekily, I love the idea of doing it.
Joe,
Contact Liz Thach, Master of Wine and Sonoma State business school professor to see of one or more of her wine business studies students wishes to take on this survey project for academic credit.
Or contact a marketing professor at a leading Washington state university near you.
~~ Bob
Backgrounder on this approach:
Excerpts from the Los Angeles Times “Business” Section
(March 10, 2009, Page B1ff):
“When Students Get to Teach;
Business schools often provide free or low-cost consulting services”
Link: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar/10/business/…
By Cyndia Zwahlen
“Small Business Makeover” Column
Student consultants — typically business school undergraduate or graduate students — are an overlooked resource for small businesses, especially those looking for an edge during a lingering recession.
Many universities offer the service free through their business, information technology or engineering schools. . . .
Joe,
The majority of those 1,450 self-selected, self-identified, conference-going wine bloggers have no audience. And that is a number that does make a difference.
Vanishingly small readership equates to no influence. A "vanity press" endeavor.
Their unseen postings can't "move the needle" on any wine they tout — unlike a talented wine merchant drawing upon his or her gravitas and years of experience "hand selling" on the floor of a retail store.
~~ Bob
Bob, sorry but you are wrong. Sort of. Taken individually, most avoid consumers don't influence many other consumers. Taken in aggregate, it's a very large market/audience, reaching thousands and thousands of people. I think we're taking past one another; you continue to insinuate that bloggers aren't reaching people who really buy wine, when they are actually the people who buy it. Moving the needle depends on what your yard stick is for the needle, as well. If you're a small producer, you'd be smart to identify the blogs that reach your target customers, even if a small audience, because the influence and market reach to that small audience is like talking directly to potential customers. If you're a huge player, you're nuts not to pay attention to the aggregate audience of the blogs, and their authors.
Joe,
Let's take a hypothetical: A wine blogger, after visiting "the wine country" (or having just received a free "review sample" of a wine), writes up a favorable review.
The question is: Is that wine distributed in many / any of the lower 48 states?
A wine not on wine merchant's shelves in a wine blog reader's home town environs can't be purchased easily.
That consumer has to resort to calling / e-mailing the winery and requesting to buy the bottle directly. (That's a hassle that too few consumers will undertake.)
But that persevering consumer may be once again thwarted from procuring the wine is s/he doesn't live in a "reciprocal state" that legally allows the shipment delivery of that wine.
So here's the frustrating upshot: Reviewed and touted wine bottles that can't be purchased by wine blog readers.
I suspect that "defines" the selling environment of so many of the "boutique' wines reviewed online.
The inability to put that touted wine into the hands of wine blog readers results in the "needle not moving."
Joe, we both live in large population, wine producing states where domestic and European wines are readily available. And we both live in states that have reciprocal agreements with other wine producing states. We can buy almost anything that gets reviewed by offline and online media.
That's not the circumstance for so many of our fellow wine enthusiasts across the country.
And that's why I assert (from first-hand experience) that a knowledgeable and talented wine merchant, "hand selling" a favored "boutique wine, has more influence on "moving the needle" than the vast majority of "citizen journalist wine bloggers" — who have no audience and tout "personal affinity wines" that aren't in distribution.
~~ Bob
One personal anecdote. I once worked weekends "moonlighting" at a wine store in Pasadena. One slow Sunday afternoon, a first-time visitor to the store walked in. I let him browse the bottles to gauge his interests before introducing myself while he stood in the Cabernet aisle.
I informed him that we had a back room for older and rarer wines. Would he wish to see them?
"Yes," he replied, and we set off for the wine bar/wine cellar not in service at that hour.
Displayed on the shelves of the wine bar/wine cellar were wines we had taken in on consignment from an astute collector in town for resale to the public.
I gave the gentleman a 90 minute tutorial on the great winemakers of California dating back to the 1970s and 1980s. Brands like Heitz and Mondavi and Beaulieu and Diamond Creek and Ridge and Mayacamas and Conn Creek and Simi and Sterling and others.
Then asked him, "Is there anything you'd like to take home today?"
He smiled and said, "Everything."
We had a good laugh, and then I renewed my inquery.
Once again, he said "Everything" and proceeded to fish his black AmEx card out of his wallet — buying over 100 bottles of well-chosen, well-aged 1970s and 1980s California Cabs at an out-of-pocket cost of over $12,000.
90 minutes prior, I had never met the man. 91 minutes into our conversation, he was laying down the Benjamins.
He explained he has just excavated a cave under his La Canada/Flintridge hillside home to create his dream wine cellar.
But he was lacking one thing: Wine.
Hence his visit that day.
He then asked me if I could line up other wines of similar reputation.
I put out the word to my wine collector friends across Los Angeles, and proceeded to line up $50,000 worth of more aged treasures — as well as contemporary vintage wines — for his literal "man cave."
That's "moving the needle."
Something the vast majority of those 1,450 self-selected, self-identified, conference-going wine bloggers
can't achieve through their writings.
(See this Wall Street Journal article on "instant wine collections":
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB11679683061…
Bob, your example is falling prey to the small numbers fallacy. The experience can’t happen very often, and it’s moving the needle for one store; a major problem here is that we can have conflicting definitions of influence, needle moving, etc. Your criticism of blogger reviews is true, but it’s also true for any review of a wine with small distribution, from any source.
Joe,
Here's my salient point:
I can sell over a hundred cases of a winery's offering based on the force of my personality on the sales floor, and working behind the wine bar in a wine store.
Can a wine blogger's tout similarly "move the needle" for that same winery?
The retail trade serving in its historical role as “taste makers” and “opinion leaders” eclipses the efforts of wine bloggers.
Retailers' efforts are measurable.
Wine bloggers' influential sway is not.
~~ Bob
Bob, and I can get importers to bring in wines I feature here. Alder Yarrow has similar influence, as do a handful of other wine bloggers. The majority can't do that, just add the majority in any field including rattail can't match the influence of the top tier in those areas. But note we're off topic. My point, which I'm not going to repeat after this, is not that bloggers are like retail pros taking to customers, it's that their primarily like the shoppers in that store thanking to one another and influencing each other's purchases. You seem to be focusing on the stance that I'm primarily debunking in my post. Here's a question, how do you measure the shoppers influence in one another in the site when you're pushing your 100 cases? You almost certainly don't, no one does, but that's the influence that's informing brand awareness and influencing individual purchase, and it's how blogs and other similar channels work. It shouldn't be dismissed because it's difficult to measure, it needs to be incorporated into wider ranges of thinking about the market. Does its volume being lower than another channel's negate it? No, that'd be absurd; the impact of an aggregate once totaled can be enormous (see estimates on the economic impact of the aggregation of small cheating on taxes and other such things in books like The Honest Truth About Dishonesty).
Joe,
Based on my experience, I have never seen one consumer in a wine store persuade another to buy an entire case of wine, based solely on the latter's personal endorsement.
One bottle? Maybe.
But not 12.
Consumers are risk averse, and a commitment to 12 bottles exceeds most folks' threshold for risk.
A retailer might offer an assurance of satisfaction, with a "buy back" offer.
That fellow wine enthusiast consumer you met in the store is not going to volunteer to "buy back" a case of recommended wine.
Wine merchants have "skin in the game."
Wine bloggers don't.
~~ Bob
(Here's a book worth reading, which I am doing right now:
“The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less" by Swarthmore College psychology professor Barry Schwarz.
Link: http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/1901…
To be followed by "The Art of Choosing" by Columbia Business School professor Sheena Iyengar.
Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304… )
Bob, and I’ve never seen a retailer sell 100 cases due to their personality. Does that make it untrue?
A postscript on choice – and feeling overwhelmed (such as in trying to keep up with some many wine blogs).
See these articles:
Excerpt from The New York Times “Sunday Book Review” Section
(April 15, 2010, Page Unknown):
“Indecision-Making"
[Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/books/review/Po…
Book review by Virginia Postrel
“… Iyengar, a professor at Columbia Business School, writes in 'The Art of Choosing" … [that] … More choice is not always better … but neither is less. The optimal amount of choice lies somewhere in between infinity and very little, and that optimum depends on context and culture. …”
Excerpt from the Los Angeles Times “Health” Section
(March 16 2009, Page E3):
“Hit With Decision Overload;
Faced with too many choices, the mind can stumble, experts say.”
[Link: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar/16/health/he…
By Tammy Worth
Times Staff Writer
"… some studies show that having to make too many decisions can leave people tired, mentally drained and more dissatisfied with their purchases. It also leads people to make poor choices – sometimes at a time when the choice really matters."
And this from "The Paradox of Choice" author Barry Schwartz:
From the Los Angeles Times “Opinion” Section
(October 20, 2006, Page Unknown):
“Weigh Your Anchor;
For homeowners, happy profits or painful losses
are a matter of perspective."
[Link: http://articles.latimes.com/2006/oct/20/opinion/o…
By Barry Schwartz
This is turning out to be a very interesting discussion and I do retract my earlier comments about wine bloggers all having WSET certification and/or Masters & Ph.Ds; that was an incorrect & un-researched comment. My apologies.
I suppose I was ticked off that whoever wrote this article didn't have their facts straight with their whole line of: 'wine bloggers are just loud & opinionated wine geeks talking to each other on-line'. I should have qualified my comments and been more clear as if there indeed 1450 wine blogs worldwide that represents a wide cross section of people of varying degrees of professional wine knowledge.
What I feel is the most important thing is that people are educated about wine, that you need to stay open minded; think outside of the box and don't allow yourself too get stuck only 1 or 2 kinds of wines.
Does this answer your question Bob?
Cheers!
Solomon
Solomon,
No apology needed. I would revise your statement to say the "best" wine bloggers have some/most of those credentials.
Those 1,450 folks who signed up for the wine bloggers conference hailed from North America — so the headcount grows when you add in the bloggers based in Europe and Asia and Australia and New Zealand and Central America and South America.
Think about other non-fiction writing endeavors. Are there 1,450 sports writers in the United States? 1.450 music reviewers? 1,450 movie reviewers?
No.
There is no marketplace demand for that much "print editorial" or online "content."
And I assert there is similarly no marketplace demand for that much wine writing.
Hence my characterization of most wine blogging being akin to running a "vanity press."
Earnest efforts. But unseen and unread.
~~ Bob
Bob, in willing to wager that there are far more than 1500 sports bloggers in the US. How about food? That topic far eclipses wine, and the volume of food bloggers is substantial, and substantially larger than wine bloggers.
Joe,
Let me clarify: by citing sports "writers" and music "reviewers" and movie "reviewers," I am referring to working professionals at established media properties — newspapers, magazines, radio, and television.
Not bloggers.
~~ Bob